Winners of five straight titles, Bulldogs may run into
top-ranked Lynden Christian in Thursday's quarterfinals
 
By SCOTT SPRUILL
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

As potential dream matchups go for a state basketball tournament, the storylines don't get much better than Lynden Christian vs. Colfax in this week's Class 1A girls event in the SunDome.

Lynden Christian's Brianne Ryan shoots over a Colfax defender during a semifinal game in the 2007 Class 1A state tournament in the SunDome.   SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic file

Lynden Christian brings in the No. 1 state ranking because of its spotless 25-0 record, which includes wins over Anacortes, the state's top-ranked 2A team, and Kentwood, a 4A state qualifier.

But how can that outshine second-ranked Colfax? The Bulldogs have made state history by winning four straight state championships and they will shoot for five in a row before dropping to 2B next season.

What's not to like about that?

Well, for starters, it would be nice to see such a highly anticipated clash on Saturday. Or even Friday. But it won't happen. Thanks to the random chance of the bracket draw, the two 1A heavyweights could collide as soon as Thursday's quarterfinals. With five true No. 1 seeds out of qualifying tournaments, two district champions were destined to be paired in the same quarterfinal bracket.

"Three or four years ago I might have been jumping up and down (mad) about it," said Colfax coach Cory Baerlocher, who made the trip to Renton for Sunday's draw. "You can only control so many things and that isn't one of them."

LC coach Curt De Haan has seen decades of brackets, led the Lyncs to six state titles and doesn't get too riled up over any difficulties the draw may present.

"Year in and year out, Colfax is a top team," he said. "We have a very strong quarterfinal bracket. We'll see how we do Wednesday and take it from there."

Which is exactly what both coaches are focusing on rather than each other. Lynden Christian plays Toledo 4 p.m. Wednesday and Colfax takes the court at 5:30 p.m. against Zillah.

Colfax, which is 21-4 with an eight-game win streak, is 10-0 in first-round games since 1998 and 17-2 in the program's history. But Zillah has amassed five trophies since 2000 and that's enough to get Baerlocher's attention.

"Our biggest thing now is Zillah," he said. "They have all the pieces to be a great team. When the draw came out I said, 'Holy cow, we ended up with Zillah in the first round.'"

Given that the bracketing precludes a Lynden Christian-Colfax possibility in the championship final, the question is who will come through the other semifinal bracket.

All indications point to Freeman and Burbank meeting in Friday's first semifinal. Third-ranked Freeman (23-3) has lost only to Colfax this season, and No. 4 Burbank (20-3) is the SCAC district champ with a fifth-place state trophy last year.

Freeman started 13-0 before the first of its three losses to Colfax, the last two coming by the same 46-36 score. The Scotties did beat Colfax once this season, 51-46, at home.

Burbank also has a win over Colfax, 36-35 in the season opener, but the Bulldogs avenged that setback two weeks later, 53-45. The Coyotes are 2-1 this season against fifth-ranked Connell, including a 38-36 win over their SCAC East rivals in the district final.

Connell (17-6) could be the semifinal opponent for the Lynden Christian-Colfax survivor, and the Eagles have a deceptive record. Four nonleague losses came at the hands of 2A powers Prosser and Othello (twice) and La Salle, which opens play Wednesday in the 2B state tournament with an unbeaten record.

But long before Game 26 arrives Saturday night for the finale, Game 15 on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. will draw the biggest buzz if Lynden Christian and Colfax get their showdown.

Coming out of a deep and competitive multiclass league that includes 3A, 2A and 1A schools, Lynden Christian's record is all the more impressive.

"Nobody can take away what they've accomplished -- no matter what happens," Baerlocher said. "I think Lynden Christian is the cream of the crop."